Originally Posted by Roni_uk
I was hoping for Ashraful's return - is it too much to ask?

It is still early. It's not about proving himself. And I for one know he will never repeat his mistake. The trust is the not the issue.

Ashraful is an asset. But let him get in the groove. In the interview I posted on his thread, he still thinks "luck dorkar". FFS get out of this "luck dorkar" mentality. Make your own luck punk. That's what peak performers do.

I LOVE how soft-spoken he is and it is hard to believe someone in such humility can be dangerously aggressive on crease.

He does have confidence that he still has some solid 10 years in his bank. I hope he hones, tweaks and maximizes his confidence and strength more and more...

Also, he is still young despite his cricketing acumen. He needs a coach, a mental coach and must be on topnotch, sharp fit condition.

Fitness is another negligent underlying issue of our team.

Anyone can pretty much pick up techniques, tactics, hacks and tweaks. But fitness is something that must be bootstrapped and built with hard work.

Navy SEALS spend all their waking hours doing pushups, pullups, situps and burpees before they even get a sniff of their gun. Now if your mentality is "we are sending them to shoot the bad guys, why should we spend some much time in 'meaningless' exercises?' then you will never build a superior powerhouse of team.

There is a reason why fitness is so important and West spends so much time on it. When I did muay thai...man frikkin hell: First run, then come and do either skipping or jump on tires, then pull tires, then sprint, then more pushups and only at the final segment of 15 minutes spar in the ring. Sparring is the icing on the cake.

Fitness is a meta-skill.

Suppose I tell someone to give 50 pushups. If he is struggling at 49 and can barely make out the last one with a gun pointed to his head, that shows lack of mental toughness in times of pressure cooker situations.

However, if he can crank out the last one, that highlights that he possesses the mental discipline to go that extra step - that extra mile- when he is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually bankrupt.

[I know I dragged the point to fitness starting with Ashraful. But it is my general thought and observation and IS pertinent and to the point. I really hope we can manufacture a top-notch, fine tuned machine of superior athletes who will need to be carried out on a stretcher before they give up and quit. Kinda like New Zealand's 34/4 in Champion's Trophy.

See skills can be learned. All these hacks, and tweaking your slow-left arm actions...all these can be learned. But you cannot teach a person mental toughness on gritting teeth and making it through hell-fire and rounds of volleys. You need to develop it incrementally with hard work, blood, sweat and tears.]